C. Edward Hixon
Passed away on September 11, 2012. He was a good man, a good father, and a loyal Lilly employee/retiree who lived a long and full life of 95 years. Ed Hixon was born in Indianapolis on May 5, 1917, and was the only child of Claude E. Hixon and Viola Sudler Hixon, both of whom came from Indiana farm families. Ed grew up in Indianapolis and earned money by having a paper route with the Indianapolis News and then for the Indianapolis Star. He graduated from Shortridge High School in 1934 with a strong academic record. This resulted in him receiving a Rector Scholarship from DePauw University. Nonetheless, even with the award, he could not afford to attend DePauw so with loans from his uncle he enrolled at Indiana University. While there he pledged Sigma Chi fraternity, served on the Union Board, was President of the Collegiate Chamber of Commerce, Treasurer and House Manager for Sigma Chi, and as a senior served as the student manager for IU's baseball team.
After graduating from IU in 1938 with a B.S. in Business Administration, he began work as a salesman and collector for the Indiana Association of Credit Men, an organization headed by his uncle. Ed's clients were bankers and financial executives and as he put it, "As a 21 year old fresh out of college, there was nothing that I could talk about with them." After about two years there was a mutual feeling that Ed should find other employment which was more in keeping with his abilities. He received several job offers but none from the company that he really wanted to work for, Eli Lilly and Company. He offered to work for free at Lilly so that he could learn the business while being in position for a full-time job. By October, 1940 a job was found in the shipping department which kicked off his 38 year career with Lilly.
This first assignment proved to be fortunate as Luella Johnson worked in the shipping department office. On August 30, 1941 Ed and Lue were married. Ed often joked that at that time she earned more money than he did. Not long after he was moved into Lilly's Junior Executive Training Corps program. After Pearl Harbor, being certain he would be entering the military, Ed sold the family car. However, because of a severe leg injury suffered during a bike accident as a boy, Ed was turned down for military service; the military doctors told him that he would be needed at Lilly in the Materials Control department so that Lilly would be able to supply medicines in the war effort. The end of WWII triggered a series of exciting job assignments starting with a role reporting to Josiah K. Lilly III. His next roles took him and the family from Indianapolis to Fayetteville, North Carolina to Cali, Colombia and to Mexico City, Mexico where he started as Director of Sales and Marketing and then as General Manager. The family has many fond memories and funny stories from this period. Upon returning to Indianapolis Ed finished out his career as Personnel Advisor for South America and England and finally as Director of Personnel for US Sales and Marketing in 1978.
In retirement Ed concentrated on his many interests including Kiwanis, Second Presbyterian Church (as a deacon and elder), gardening, pre-Colombian archeology, and genealogy. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and was a president of the local chapter. He was a board member of the Horticultural Society, member of the Midtown Mental Health Advisory Board, and was always proud of his participation in the Youth Job Preparedness Program teaching teenagers to work together and how to interview for jobs. In 1995, Lue passed away after 53 years of marriage. In 1997, Ed married Martha Jane Ploch Spencer who passed away in 2002. He spent most of his final years in independent living at Marquette Manor.
Ed Hixon is survived by daughter, Linda Lue Hixon Berghold in Allentown, Pennsylvania, son Craig Edward Hixon in Tampa, Florida, son, John David Hixon in Zionsville, Indiana, and step-daughter Ann Spencer in Indianapolis. The 3 Hixon children have provided Ed with a total of 9 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. He was a loyal man and good father. His full 95 years are a testament to his love of family, his strong faith, good genetics, his interest in life, and a really good doctor.
Visitation will be on Friday, September 14, 2012 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Leppert Mortuary, Nora Chapel . The funeral service will be on Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. in Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis. Entombment will take place in Crown Hill Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Second Presbyterian Endowment Fund and the Starfish Initiative. If you would like to sign the online guestbook or send condolences to the family you may do so by visiting: http://www.leppertmortuary.com
